General Information
Developer: Simogo
Genre: Adventure
Platform: iOS (Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.)
Release date: November 6th 2014
Price: $3.99 US, $4.99 NZ
A peaceful narrative experience, in which the only objective is to satisfy your curiosity. Explore an ocean dream world, in which time passes even when you are not there, visit forgotten islands and piece together memories – some even existing beyond the screen of your device.
Two months ago, I hadn't played any of Simogo's games. Now that I've played Device 6, Year Walk, and Beat Sneak, I'll buy any of their games day one, totally blind. Can't wait for this
And unless I'm mistaken, I thought the price was $3.99
40 minutes in. Hmm, Sailor's Dream isn't a game. It's not a text adventure. It's something...new, different. It's a narrative told in a way that could never be accomplished by a book, a story delivered piece-meal, in tantalizing parts. An experience that blends audio and visuals and the tactile nature of touch screen to establish a mood, create an atmosphere.
Yep, this is really interesting so far... though I'm starting to get a foreboding feeling. It really sets up the mood well. The music alone makes it worth it.
Was in the thread about SE's future development plans and kept seeing "new experiences on mobile" bleated over and over again in reference to recycling their old IPs and remembered that this was coming out today!
Praise [your deity here] for developers that actually strive to create unique, engaging experiences regardless of platform. Loved Year Walk and Device 6. Downloading this now for my iPad. This will consume my commute to/from work.
Though there are bits where you're just pushing and.. tugging.. at things when something moves in an unexpected way that leads to further discovery, etc... I fucking love stuff like this. Simogo games are great in this way.
Ok so I think I just found the final ending to the game and went to a guide to see if it was and...yeah that's it. Somewhat disappointing. Even worse though is apparently I have been fiddling with the constellation things for nothing because they apparently do nothing and don't unlock anything. What?
Ok so I think I just found the final ending to the game and went to a guide to see if it was and...yeah that's it. Somewhat disappointing. Even worse though is apparently I have been fiddling with the constellation things for nothing because they apparently do nothing and don't unlock anything. What?
Awww yisss. Going to try and set up my office's printer with this now.
Though, is there a good free paperless alternative? AirPrint -> PDF, either locally on my iPad or "print" to a connected computer as opposed to a printer. A quick search didn't bring up much for me that was useable.
. I'll stop for now and do everything else some other time.
I'm feeling divided on this one... It's visually great and the music is outstanding, as expected. The story is cool to piece together and it's pleasantly melancholic. It's not gripping me like Year Walk or Device 6 did, but it's nice.
However, I think that not having puzzles hurts more than helps. Little "Aha!" moments may not seem like a big deal when they're present, but they make a world of difference when they're absent in a game like this. I don't mean having multi-item complex conundrums, but small stuff like getting a key and inserting it somewhere else. Twisting a cube in the right way to open it so you get said key. Etc. Imo, even the lightest "puzzle" can help in heightening the interactions you can have with the world and making things feel like they matter. As it stands, all the objects you can touch and fiddle with in the islands feel hollow and make you feel like moving on too quickly.
I'll spoiler the next paragraphs because there are gameplay spoilers. No story spoilers though:
I'll be honest, I never like it when any game uses real time in order for me to to access content. And The Sailor's Dream goes the extra mile by using both seven days of the week + hours of the day. Waiting for it and having to keep tabs on 7 days and 12 hours isn't ideal because it feels very artificial to me, and messing with the device's internal clock is well... "cheating" and immersion breaking, which is not satisfactory either.
Also, the printer thing is clever, but honestly annoying. Even if I had an AirPrint-compatible printer readily available I'd still not want to waste paper and paint on this and would end up looking at the results online. So, what sounds initially like a cute feature ultimately soils part of the experience by being a hassle.
I can see where they were going with all this but, for now, it's not a direction I appreciate. It's still an audiovisual treat, but I can't help but feel like it's getting bogged down by some design decisions which aren't allowing me to just get properly involved in an otherwise neatly crafted product.
Anyway, I'll post again after I experience all the content and collect my thoughts.
Really impressive and I've been getting goosebumps way too many times going through this.
I think the puzzle here is piecing out the story together, but I would say the game seems to have some actual puzzles that may not be required for solving the game, but are still there.
Transmission Horologe seems to be the place you're supposed to visit on a full hour and something will happen? I got this from a text elsewhere in the game. Guess I'll find out in a few minutes.
What about all the sound making boxes, and other objects you can move around, or otherwise interact with? I doubt they are just there to be an eye (ear) candy.
or at least the first ending... and yeah, I ended up changing my phone's clock. I got Thursday-Saturday's music and maybe six of the transmissions legitimately, but I felt I'd get tired of waiting each day, and just barely missing transmissions all the time.
I think this is a fantastic app to own and "play" but I'd definitely recommend Year Walk and Device 6 over it. Visually and aurally, it's a treat through and through. I was left satisfied with the story, and wouldn't pass it up had I known what was going to happen.
I agree with other people about how the real-time gating feels artificial, and how the use of AirPrinting is a letdown. I mean, I can't remember the last time I've had a printer available to me, let alone one capable of AirPrint. Unless there's a way to AirPrint to PDF on my computer, I'll be stuck looking for printouts online.
Also, if there's anything you can do with the little doodads in each area, I'm afraid they were too obtuse. Then again, if there's nothing you can do with them, that's honestly disappointing. I can imagine people familiar with Simogo games spending way too much time messing with that stuff, taking notes on everything, and then having a strong negative reaction when they find out there was no secret.
or at least the first ending... and yeah, I ended up changing my phone's clock. I got Thursday-Saturday's music and maybe six of the transmissions legitimately, but I felt I'd get tired of waiting each day, and just barely missing transmissions all the time.
I think this is a fantastic app to own and "play" but I'd definitely recommend Year Walk and Device 6 over it. Visually and aurally, it's a treat through and through. I was left satisfied with the story, and wouldn't pass it up had I known what was going to happen.
I agree with other people about how the real-time gating feels artificial, and how the use of AirPrinting is a letdown. I mean, I can't remember the last time I've had a printer available to me, let alone one capable of AirPrint. Unless there's a way to AirPrint to PDF on my computer, I'll be stuck looking for printouts online.
Also, if there's anything you can do with the little doodads in each area, I'm afraid they were too obtuse. Then again, if there's nothing you can do with them, that's honestly disappointing. I can imagine people familiar with Simogo games spending way too much time messing with that stuff, taking notes on everything, and then having a strong negative reaction when they find out there was no secret.
EDIT: If you don't have an AirPrint printer, or don't want to go through the trouble setting up a virtual one,
here are the files you can print. There are eleven drawings, but it's possible I missed one. If so, please let me know!
There's 12 at least btw, that's how many I've found.
For people who don't have a printer, go and download Printopia for Mac, and it will let you print into PDF, with your Mac being the printer. I found the software to be glitchy though, and had to switch it off/on for just about every new print I wanted to make.
Much like how doing your taxes at the same time isn't the best way to enjoy a movie. Or how looking down at your phone, texting your friends isn't the best way to enjoy a concert.
I've finished it-and it has amazing music, and presentation.
However, I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled with the "game". I'd say it's more akin to something like Gone Home than Device 6. I wish there were more to "solve".
It certainly gives that impression with the various locations, and clickable, interactive pieces. but that being said, I do love it. I certainly appreciate this on the App Store a hell of a lot more than 99.9% of the rest of the stuff that's loaded on there week after week.
I think I'm going to do the same. I played the first part in one sitting and having been slowly working on getting the messages and songs, but I'm already starting to forget parts of the story. So, I'm going to start over and just mess with the time and date on my phone to experience everything at once. I was really wanting to do everything properly but my memory disagrees with doing it that way, apparently.
Anyway, from what I have experienced, I'd say this is my favorite of their three adventure games. It's a very sentimental story that I've been able to connect to much more than Device 6 or Year Walk.
However, I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled with the "game". I'd say it's more akin to something like Gone Home than Device 6. I wish there were more to "solve".
Yeah, it's a similar adventure game to something like Dear Esther or Gone Home. Which I like, because I've grown to love those adventure games with a focus on narrative and setting while more traditional adventure game elements are removed. Puzzles can be fun but I feel like as I get older I'm losing patience for them.
I have to say I don't get the point of all the interactive boxes, planets, moon etc. Is there any point in moving them other than changing the melody they're playing? They don't even seem to tie into the story symbolism in any way I can immediately notice. They definitely add to the ethereal atmosphere but I'm just wondering if there's something more to them.
